On July 19th 1978 a typewritten letter from Los Angeles arrived at the San Francisco Chronicle stating: "I am the ZODIAC and I am in control of all things. I am going to tell you a secret. I like friction tape. I like to have it around in case I need to truss someone up in a hurry....I have my real name on a small metallic tape. You see, while you have it in your possession, I want you to know it belongs to me and you think I may have left it accidentally. I am athletic. It could be swim fins, or a piece of scuba gear. But maybe you play chess with me. I have several cheap sets in closets all over. I have my name on the bottom of the lid with the scotch tape....My tape is waiting for me all over California. Do you know me? I am the ZODIAC and I am in control".​

Inspector David Toschi

In the previous article on this topic we discussed how this letter may have been a sarcastic dig at David Toschi, who had been demoted from homicide detail to pawn detail after revelations of his possible authorship of the April 24th 1978 letter. The phrase "but maybe you play chess with me" areference to his misfortune of ending up in the pawn section. Quicktrader, from Zodiac Killer Site forum, explained how the author of this letter may have given us a clue to his name Paul, which featured at the bottom of the lid on a well known brand of Scotch tape. In fact, the majority of the letter implicitly focuses on tape, beginning with "friction tape" to bind his victims, then "small metallic tape" which he didn't leave somewhere accidentally, and finally, the "scotch tape" which we've already covered.

Regarding the tape - twice he mentioned his name in accompaniment. The author stated "I have my real name on a small metallic tape" and "I have my name on the bottom of the lid with the scotch tape". If we are to discover what the Zodiac Killer (if the author) meant by "small metallic tape" we need to travel back to a murder where his name featured, at or close to the attack site, and where it was deliberately left. Fortunately we don't have to go back too far.

On Sunday November 2nd 1975, a man walked up to a couple's vehicle on Monte Cresta Drive, Belmont, California and shot 17-year-old Carlmont High School student Anthony Vincent Bruno Jr to death. "According to Police Captain George Stephenson, Bruno and his girlfriend (16 years) had been parked on Monte Cresta Drive, above Barclay Way in an isolated area of western hills when a man opened the driver's side door and apparently without saying anything fired the shotgun. The girl, who was not identified by police, pushed Bruno's body aside and drove the car to her home from where police were notified. She described the assailant as white, 5 feet 5 inches tall, 140 pounds and wearing an Army green parka with hood, according to police. Stephenson said also that a late model brown pick-up truck, possibly a Dodge or Chevrolet, had been seen in the area at about the time of the shooting." San Mateo Times.

​The description doesn't sound much like the Zodiac Killer, but often he would lay claim to murders he never committed. This may have been the case here, when on the following day (possibly having read or heard about the murder) placed something interesting in a phone booth. ​Mike Morford stated, in reference to a San Mateo news article, dated November 14th 1975 "The reporter, a man named Bob Foster, mentions that on the night of November 3, 1975, the 11 pm TV news on channel KGO, ran a story about a Zodiac letter being found in a phone booth. This is pretty interesting to me for a couple reasons regarding the timing. First of all because, the night before, on 11/2/75, a young man and his girlfriend were attacked on a lovers lane by a gun wielding man. The male victim, Vincent Bruno was killed, but his girlfriend survived. If I recall correctly, there may have been a letter & cassette tape found the same night in a phone booth not far from the attack site, from someone claiming to be Zodiac. Also, I will try to find it again, but in one of the FBI files, there IS mention of a letter & casette tape found together".Here is a previous article covering this topic.

This is an extract from Wikipedia about cassette tapes: At about the same time chromium dioxide (CrO2) tape, later designated Type II, was introduced by DuPont, the inventor of the particle, and BASF, the inventor and longtime manufacturer of magnetic recording tape. Next, coatings using magnetite (Fe3O4) such as TDK's Audua were produced in an attempt to approach or exceed the sound quality of vinyl records. Cobalt-absorbed iron oxide (Avilyn) was introduced by TDK in 1974 and proved very successful. Here is a timeline regarding the history of cassette tapes.

The author of the July 19th 1978 letter may have been referring to this (small metallic) tape, left in the phone booth on November 3rd 1975 alongside the letter claiming to be Zodiac. The author stated "I want you to know it belongs to me and you think I may have left it accidentally". Obviously the tape couldn't have held an audio message from Zodiac, because the author of the 1978 letter wouldn't have stated "I want you to know it belongs to me". But he wanted the San Francisco Chronicle to know it had been left there deliberately. So what could have been recorded on the tape, in keeping with the games of the Zodiac Killer - that also contained his name on the small metallic tape? Maybe something like this?

This,on the surface,suggests that presumed Zodiac,is ''about'' to embark on a ''nefarious spree'' of mayhem,in California...but has yet to really start.

If we were to buy in to the May 1978 letter [Channel 9],then it suggests that he had been somewhere else in the world,and was returning to his original ''haunt'' [..California..],to pick up,from where he left off.

The ''real'' second coming of the Zodiac [?]....in the Zodiac's mind.

In addition,that the phrase,''My tape is waiting for me,all over California''....could be construed as ''proof positive'' that his employment of the term ''tape'',has multiple interpretations.

''But maybe you play chess with me.I have several cheap sets in closets all over.''

Translation :

''Now..maybe you play mind games with me ? Though you can only nab me,as a thief of costume jewellry....as opposed to a murderer and extortionist.''

That must be a goad at Toschi [?].

I think that,in the early days,it was ''beneath'' the Zodiac to ''personalise'' the cops.They were just ''pigs'' and ''Blue meanies''.The FBI ''might'' have had the accolade ''Eggmen'' bestowed upon them [San Jose cryptogram]....but really,the Zodiac only saw them as ''The Collective Enemy''.

Jump forward to 1978....time moves on,and individual cops like Toschi,start to emerge,from the unsolved case...and the Zodiac,in a position of ''self satisfied superiority'',feels qualified to ''gloat''...particularly when ''one'' among the ranks of the ''failed'',falls from a seemingly lofty height of ''celebrity''.

Without official confirmation,on certain correspondences,it can be a struggle to find compelling reasons for ''credulity''.

But,we know that the April 1978 letter represents a ''watershed'' for Law Enforcement's willingness,to engage with the public again,on matters of verifcation.

So,we as sleuths are,to an extent,''out on our own'',as examiners of documents,that might be attributible to the Zodiac.

It seems to me that,when the Zodiac was in the ''right'' mood,he could be a ''crafty f**ker''.Take,for example,the possible ''Eggmen'' reference,to the FBI,in the San Jose Cryptogram and letter,of November 1969.....perhaps,a ''baptism of fire'' for the FBI's first personal engagement with the Zodiac.

If,as they should have done,realised that the Zodiac was referring to them,as ''Eggmen''....then they would know that,not only did the Zodiac regard them,as ''Pigs'' and ''Meannies''.......

But also,as ''similarly suited'' sexual deviants.

Reply

Richard

7/15/2019 06:06:38 am

The best way to authenticate these letters is tie them together. When you have two unpublished letters not presented for public consumption, such as the Monticello card and 148 character cipher both mailed in 1971. The Zodiac's last official victim count was 17+ in 1971 and if the Exorcist letter was Zodiac, then 37. So, it's pretty obvious that two letters both with a victim count of 21, both of which were never released to the newspapers, were both mailed by the same author. They could be a hoaxer, however, when you can show them to be a part of a pattern, through multiple letters and cards dating back to 1969, then the case becomes more compelling. As for law enforcement or FBI, and what they are or are not releasing to the public, I don't really care. These current investigators know very little about the Zodiac case, because they only get handed it from time to time - somebody probably just walks up to them and says have a look at this cold case. Unless they had a prior interest in it, then there is no way they can begin with a sound footing. By the time they've acquainted themselves with the case after several years (because that is what it would take regarding the Zodiac case) they have likely been moved on. This has been the case for years, so I don't really concern myself with the politics of the hierarchy. It hasn't changed in 50 years, and I'm too old to worry about it now. I just enjoy analyzing the cards, letters and crimes and hope to shed some additional light on them, however incremental. Whether people agree with my analyses I couldn't attest, but if I didn't enjoy true crime, I wouldn't do it.

Reply

Richard

7/15/2019 06:14:02 am

Oh, and when I say I enjoy true crime, I mean the aspect of the unknown, not the despicable crimes within.